Daniel Neill
Admiral Daniel Douglas Neill, last Chief of the Starfleet General Staff (later His Eminence the Count of the City and Province of Easthaven) (born December 10, 2232 in Barstow, California, Earth; died November 2, 2371 in Easthaven, Reydovan Prime) is a fictional character created by Joshua Underwood in the Star Trek universe. Daniel Neill is the father of Ethan and Jeremiah Neill, and has been portrayed by British actor David Thewlis since 2005. The character was created in 2004, but never roleplayed out until the original series-era subplot in the Star Trek: Fragile Peace storyline. Origins Daniel Neill was born to James Robert Neill, a staunch anti-Starfleet radical, and his wife Keita Fayhan, an El-Aurian living on Earth. Through his mother, Daniel was a blood cousin of Catherine Fayhan, the wife of Mikhail Britanov, and her brother Saxtus, who works in Starfleet Operations. Daniel has the more British-esque accent (and generally genial attitude) of his El-Aurian parent, but the hard facial features of his father. Raised in the deserts of California, Daniel became fascinated at an early age with Starfleet, and the power their ships wielded. He wanted to be able to use the power of Starfleet weapons to strike against the enemies of the Federation. In 2248, he got that chance. Starfleet Service At 16, Daniel entered Starfleet Academy, much to the dismay of his father. James Neill forbade any contact between "his family" - referring to himself and his wife Keita - and this "Starfleet upstart". Daniel was stricken by bouts of loneliness and depression, which so hampered his education that the commandant of Starfleet Academy recommended that Daniel seek counsel with a good friend of his. That friend happened to be then-Captain Joshua Underwood, who had retired from active starship duty to teach at the Academy. Underwood was a long-licensed counselor and psychologist, and offered his support. Daniel became Underwood's protégé, and regained some of his vigor in order to get through Starfleet Academy. Daniel became an expert in Starfleet armaments, becoming the chief weapons officer onboard the frigate U.S.S. Surya in 2255. It was only after he became the chief weapons officer onboard the U.S.S. Constellation, under Commodore Matthew Decker, that his skill for command and tactics took root. Decker recommended Daniel take the now-vacant second officer post on the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard, and he was accepted. For two years, Daniel worked diligently and hard, earning commendations from his commanding officer, who recommended him to take the open first officer's spot on the dreadnought U.S.S. Katana. Service on the Katana (TOS Roleplaying Storyline) Neill served on the Katana as first officer to Captain Noriyuki Tokugawa from 2267 to 2270. Rescue on Sherman's Planet In 2268, Lieutenant Commander T'Keira Everknight, the XO of the U.S.S. Braveheart, was kidnapped by the Klingons and held prisoner. A small force was assembled and sent to rendezvous with a Klingon cruiser at Sherman's Planet. The force consisted of the Katana, the frigate Beauregard under Meredith Donato, the Enterprise under James Kirk and the Braveheart under Foxx Everknight. The science officer of the Braveheart, Lt. Commander Jackson Howard - a 24th century officer trapped in the 23rd - tried to convince Captains Kirk, Everknight and Tokugawa that transporting while in warp was possible. Many of the officers, Neill included, did not feel that was possible. However, Commander Spock of the Enterprise believed that the theory was possible, if a powerful enough transporter was used - the transporter on the Katana. Captain Tokugawa was not convinced, but he said he would give it a try - and told Howard that "you had better be 100% on this". Neill, of course, warned that this was still a risky venture, and that the mission could be compromised over a theory. Tokugawa pointed out that they could not trust the Klingon notion of honor; they had been deceptive in the past. The Klingon cruiser Reet'Nal, commanded by Captain K'Trok, carried its prisoner across the Neutral Zone to Sherman's Planet for the rendezvous. The captain had become attracted to T'Keira during her imprisonment, and it is believed she convinced him to release her. Before the transfer could be made, the frigate Beauregard, with Howard and Spock onboard, beamed T'Keira away before dropping to warp, followed by the two Constitutions and the Katana. Due to an oversight by Neill himself - focusing more on the medical supplies during the Katana's resupply on Earth - the dreadnought left the yard with no torpedoes, and thus found itself at a disadvantage when they confronted the Reet'Nal. Realizing the situation, the Klingons disengaged, and the Federation mission was a success. Neill took responsibility for the lack of torpedoes during that mission, saying he got caught up in the collection of medical supplies in case they were required, and did not check to see if the torpedoes were loaded. Despite this oversight that might have been very costly, Neill remained first officer, and swore not to make that mistake again. Rise to Command After three years on the Katana, Daniel was promoted to Captain at last, and chosen to command the prototype for the Belknap-class strike cruiser, the U.S.S. Decatur. While he was commanding the Decatur on her shakedown cruise, he received a message from his mother, Keita, informing him of his father's death. Before he died, James recanted his criticism of Starfleet and had only one wish...that Daniel continue to do his duty without question. After returning to dock from the shakedown of the Decatur, Daniel was asked to command another two-year shakedown for the first official member of the class, the U.S.S. Belknap herself. Once that was completed in 2274, Daniel was promoted to rear admiral and assigned to the Military Staff Committee. In late 2275, he was asked to prosecute Admiral Kiran Joshmaul for attempting to incite rebellion. Neill was unforgiving and forceful, but it was his mentor, Joshua Underwood, who eventually won a small victory that prevented Joshmaul from facing the death penalty. Underwood volunteered to take him to a rehab colony, and leave the chance for Joshmaul to return to the Fleet. Once Underwood and Joshmaul got underway, however, they mysteriously vanished. Months of investigations led the Fleet to believe that Joshmaul and Underwood were dead. After Joshmaul was "confirmed" dead, Daniel was given his seat on the General Staff. Daniel served on the General Staff for 22 years, eventually becoming the Chief of Staff in 2288. In 2293, he was a member of the Starfleet contingent attending the Khitomer Conference. Upon his return from Khitomer, his first son, Ethan Allen Neill, was born at his estate in Oakdale, California. A year later, in 2294, he personally investigated the disappearance of the popular Rear Admiral Foxx Everknight, but was unable to find clues, and his wife T'Keira was not very forthcoming. The investigation was closed the following year. Then, in 2298, he decided to personally oversee an operation into the Reydovan system, to build a starbase in neutral space. In addition, he had heard rumors of unrest in that area, so he decided to investigate personally, using the starship Independence as his flagship. Little did he realize that the unrest would come to him... The Choice: Surrender or Die In September 2298, the Independence was ambushed by Reydovan vessels in the Korolev Expanse. Admiral Neill was taken aboard the flagship, to stand face-to-face with Kiran Joshmaul himself for the first time in over two decades. Joshmaul gave Neill a fateful choice: Serve him unquestioningly, and surrender his ship and crew to his Reydovan Empire, or face execution for espionage. The admiral accepted Joshmaul's officer for clemency. The loss of contact with the Independence led Starfleet Command to think that it had been destroyed, and its crew killed. Starfleet sent its best ships, led by the Excelsior, to the Reydovan sector to investigate. Charging Joshua Underwood with the defense of the new Empire, Joshmaul proved his tactical genius against the Federation, eventually grinding the war to a stalemate in 2301. Daniel was temporarily imprisoned from 2298 to 2299. When he was released he met a woman named Kathleen Fielding, a Reydovan Eugenic with whom he had fathered his first son, Ethan, years earlier. She had flocked to Joshmaul's banner in 2297. In 2300, they married, and after the war ended, Kathleen gave birth to a second son, Jeremiah. Joshmaul, deciding to remain on his new subject's good side, granted him the title of Count of Easthaven Province, and the "layered" city of Easthaven was constructed to serve as his capital. In 2308, Kathleen died giving birth to their daughter Dorothea, who would later become the mother of the popular Starfleet general Jonathan Ross. Later Years For many years after his wife died, Daniel remained a silent voice of reason in the nobility of the Empire. He bore silent witness to his son Jeremiah's military career, and often returned to Earth under diplomatic courier to visit his El-Aurian mother, Keita. In May 2371, Daniel was diagnosed with Reyerson's disease, a degenerative disorder that very often hit the very young, or the very old; by that time, thanks to his El-Aurian blood, Daniel was 138 years old. He remained as active as humanly possible until the bitter end. He made plans with his son Jeremiah and with connections in Starfleet, to let him be buried on Earth. His legacy secure, Daniel Neill died of his illness on November 2, 2371, and was buried at Riverside National Cemetery in his native California. His cousin, Saxtus Fayhan, was named executor of his estate, much of which going to Daniel's son Jeremiah. Preferential Treatment? It is believed that Jeremiah, the younger son, was named as Daniel's successor as Neill family patriarch either by preference or spite of his elder son, Ethan. It is reported that Daniel doted on his younger son and supported him far more than he supported Ethan. Daniel's will, updated on October 30, 2371 - three days before his death - specifically stated that Jeremiah, not Ethan, was to become the new Count Neill of Easthaven. This sparked a debate in the Council of Nobles, instigated by Ethan; he believed that as the elder sibling, specifically trained in the arts of statecraft, he was the rightful successor to his father's titles. Emperor Joshmaul, however, upheld Daniel's decision, and Ethan was chastised - and then stripped of his rank for defiance of the Emperor. Family Daniel Neill met Kathleen Fielding, the daughter of a future Reydovan noble, in 2293. He married her in 2300, and had a total of three children, the eldest born out of wedlock. His elder son, Ethan, was expunged from Imperial records due to his "criminal activities". *Ethan Allen Neill (2293-), Imperial Marshal and renegade military leader *Jeremiah Robert Neill (2301-), Imperial Warmaster, married 2327, 2 sons *Dorothea Marie Neill-Ross (2308-), married 2343, 1 son Neill, Daniel Neill, Daniel